Heathrow Business Summit

The 24th Business Summit was held in November last year after an enforced gap of three years. London Heathrow Airport invited small and medium-size enterprises (SME) to reconnect with its £188bn supply chain. We at the Chamber worked hard to find representative companies from our three boroughs, within various sectors to attend the Summit, ranging from a photographer to a rope access company.

The Summit offered insight into how working with Heathrow will enable SMEs to play a central role in the airport’s operation and wider sustainable supply chain and highlighted ways by which SMEs can help Heathrow continue to grow sustainably. Hounslow Chamber and West London Chambers also had a stand and a most successful day recruiting three new members. At the end of the day, we were honoured to be awarded a Heathrow Community Award, to recognise the work we have done over the years and will continue to do with Heathrow, to help all our businesses benefit from the major economic driver in west London, namely Heathrow.

The Summit is one of a range of initiatives Heathrow has established to rebuild its supply chain sustainably. The airport’s recently refreshed sustainability strategy. Connecting People and Planet – sets out how barriers to entry will be removed as well as a commitment to grow the proportion of SMEs in the airport’s supply chain .

The 24th edition of the Heathrow Business Summit took place in partnership with local Chambers of Commerce and business groups. Heathrow’s role as the largest employer based in West London - with SMEs comprising over 40% of the airport’s supply chainplaced the Summit as a unique opportunity for local SMEs to find out how they can work with larger suppliers, and for Heathrow itself to continue to grow its supply chain. We are extremely proud to have been supported by West London Chambers of Commerce who played a pivotal role as a key partner in the successful delivery of the Summit.